Here you can search for your favourite animals, opening times or for our latest news. Just start typing.

Welcome to Wolf Patrol!

If you’re preparing to visit our amazing new Wolf Country habitat on the Foot Safari, get ready here! We’ve got wolf facts, the truth about some wolf myths and we’ll give you all the knowledge you need before you meet our wolves face-to-face.

Tracking the Wolf - Fact File

Wolves can be found around the world and were once found in the UK before being hunted to extinction. Wolves vary in size, pack size and diet around the globe. However, all wolves live and hunt in family units and play their role in maintaining a healthy balance within an ecosystem.

Fact

A wolf's average lifespan is around 5-6 years in the wild.

Fact

Wolves hunt many different species depending on where in the world they live, from small rodents to a fully grown bison. There is strength in numbers.

Fact

Within a pack, there is only one breeding pair and they stay together rearing the cubs. Cubs will remain part of the family until they mature, find a mate and create their own pack.

Fact

Some of the larger species of wolf can grow up to 5 ft in length, standing at 3 ft.

Fact

Wolves have small webs between their toes, which makes them strong swimmers.

Fact

They are the largest members of the dog family, with some species living in packs of 20.

Fact

Wolves hide when they see intruders rather than bark because they are afraid of anything unfamiliar - they wouldn't make very good guard dogs!

Fact

They're able to stop and turn around quickly when running because they run on their toes. This avoids damaging their paw pads.

Fact

In a forest wolves can hear sounds up to six miles away - this helps them to sneak up on prey.

Fact

When wolves get hungry they can eat 20 pounds of meat in one sitting!

Kids' Activites

We all read stories about wolves, but are they true? And if you were a wolf, what would your name be? Try our mythbuster and wolf name generator tools to find out!

What's your wolf name?

What's Your Wolf Name?

Wolves in folklore are often given names that reflect their character, whether that is fierce, regal or kind. So what would your name be? Find out here!

Enter Your First NameEnter Your Last Name

Your Wolf Name Is

Wolf Mythbuster

The Wolf Mythbuster

Are wolves dangerous or caring? Aggressive or protective? Separate the facts from the fiction with our mythbuster!

Wolves are maneaters?

1 of 10

FALSE!

Wolves have a strong fear of humans. In fact, they are wary of most predators. They will actively avoid confrontation wherever possible. Attacks on humans are incredibly rare and you'd actually find it difficult or impossible to spot a wolf in the wild.

2 of 10

Wolves enjoy the kill?

3 of 10

FALSE!

As with all predators, wolves kill solely for food for themselves and the pack. The idea that wolves kill for sport comes from the common discovery of carcasses which have been killed and abandoned. But the real reason for this is that wolves can be easily scared away from a kill by other predators.

4 of 10

Wolves howl at the moon?

5 of 10

FALSE!

Wolves howl for a wide variety of reasons, including to assemble their pack, attract a mate, mark territory, scare off enemies, signal alarm, or communicate their position. They also howl when they’re yawning and stretching after a long sleep. It’s also believed that the howl is used to confuse enemies and prey - its audio properties are able to make it sound like there’s a large pack stalking prey when in fact there may only be two or three wolves.

6 of 10

Wolves are bad for the ecosystem?

7 of 10

FALSE!

In fact there is evidence that wolves can bring benefits to the environment. In Yellowstone National Park in the US, elk were eating tree saplings before they mature, and it was having a devastating effect, so wolves were reintroduced to move the elk away from the new trees, helping them to grow and boost other species living there.

8 of 10

Wolves devastate farming herds of sheep and cattle?

9 of 10

FALSE!

Wolf populations are not large enough to have a serious impact on herds at a national level in any of the countries where they still roam wild. However, individual farmers can experience problems if they have a large pack in their area, or their farmland crosses over a number of territories as wolves don’t spread their feeding evenly across herds.

10 of 10

Conservation

Hunting, new farming methods and urban construction have all contributed to the decline of wolf populations in Europe. This video shows how the number of wolves has massively reduced across the continent since the 15th century. Once found everywhere, wolves are now extinct in many countries and only small pockets survive in others.